Fabulous Fletcher fifty headlines Khulna's thumping win over Sylhet

Sylhet Sunrisers made as many as four changes in this match but could not change their fortunes as they were thumped by a strong Khulna Tigers in the 17th match of the ongoing Bangladesh Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in Mirpur. Khulna won the encounter by nine wickets with 34 balls to spare. 

Chasing a target of 143 on a rather bouncy surface, Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar got Khulna off to a rollicking start and the 99-run opening stand in quick time set the tone for them and Thisara Perera put the finishing touches. Mohammad Mithun played a splendid knock but the slow start with the bat hurt Sylhet big time.

After inviting Sylhet to bat first, Mushfiqur Rahim entrusted left-arm spinner Nabil Samad the new ball from one end and he bowled an exceptional spell inside the powerplay. He and the pacers - Kamrul Islam and Khaled Ahmed - gave nothing away and Sylhet could not add more than 24 runs inside the powerplay, losing the wicket of the in-form Anamul Haque. 

Khulna were in all sorts of trouble at 34 for three when they lost another in-form batter in Colin Ingram. Onus was then on Mohammad Mithun and the captain Mosaddek Hossain to consolidate and give their bowlers something to bowl at.

They started slow but the 12th over bowled by Sekkuge Prasanna yielding 18 runs gave Sylhet the much-needed momentum. Mosaddek played well for his 30-ball-34 before slicing the ball straight to deep point. He added 68 in 8.2 overs with Mithun. 

After Mosaddek's fall, Mithun opened up his shoulders. He accelerated brilliantly after a steady start and his placement of the ball was top-notch. The right-hander picked up his fifty off 41 balls and then cut loose. Before getting out in the final over, Mithun scored 72 off just 51 balls. His innings was studded with six fours and four sixes.

Sylhet scored 100 in the final 10 and posted 142 for five in 20 overs. Khaled Ahmed bagged two wickets for Khulna.

After a quiet first over, Khulna openers - Andre Fletcher and Soumya Sarkar - took the bowlers on. The former was the more aggressive of the two but Soumya was not far behind. The second, fifth and sixth over yielded 15, 15 and 20 runs respectively. They dealt in boundaries and were 65 for no loss after six. 

Fletcher racked up his fifty off just 34 balls. Soumya fell seven runs short of his half-century. The left-hander got out to Nazmul Islam Apu after adding 99 with Fletcher. 

But Fletcher carried on after Soumya's departure. He struck the ball sweetly and scored a lot of his runs square of the wicket on both sides. He drove the ball well square on the off side and smashed sixes through the midwicket and long-on region. 

He was joined by Thisara Perera who also hit some lusty blows to finish things off in 14.2 overs. Perera was unbeaten on 22 off nine balls. Fletcher played a match-winning knock of unbeaten 71 off 47 with the help of five fours and as many sixes.